Raising Resilient Kids: Ryan Duncan Of Jubilee Estate On Strategies for Nurturing Emotional Strength in Children

In today’s fast-paced world, children face numerous challenges that can impact their emotional well-being. Developing resilience is key to helping them navigate these obstacles and grow into emotionally strong individuals. How can parents, educators, and caregivers foster this resilience in children?

As part of this interview series, we had the pleasure to interview Ryan Duncan.

Ryan Duncan founded Jubilee Estate, a certified-organic regenerative farm and luxury event venue on Palma Sola Bay in Bradenton, Florida, after losing six houses and all his savings during the 2008 financial crisis. He now holds real estate interests across Florida, Costa Rica, and Montana, and pairs that work with authorship of The Bloodline Ring and a partnership in the wellness company Zinzino. His proudest achievement centers on his children, whom he raised to build real businesses from an early age, trust their own judgment, and understand money as a tool for independence rather than an end in itself.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to ‘get to know you’. Can you tell us a bit about your background and your backstory?

I grew up with an early curiosity about money and independence. I opened my first retirement account at 13, bought my first house young, and spent my twenties moving through corporate retail, financial advising, commercial fishing, and eventually mortgage lending. The 2008 financial crisis hit us hard. We lost six houses and all of our savings in about nine months. That experience forced a reckoning, and it shaped everything I’ve built since. Today I run Jubilee Estate, a 12.5-acre certified-organic regenerative farm and luxury event venue on Palma Sola Bay in Bradenton, Florida, along with real estate holdings in Costa Rica and Montana. I’m also a published author and a partner in Zinzino, a health and wellness company. My kids have been the throughline in all of it. Building businesses gave me the freedom to actually be present as a father, and that presence has been the real win.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to your particular career path?

I was heading out on a fishing boat one morning, a few years into commercial fishing after walking away from a financial advising career, when my mom called about an opportunity in the mortgage business. I told her I wasn’t interested and hung up. The boat captain looked at me and said something close to: “Ryan, you don’t belong out here. You’re too smart to be doing this your whole life.” That hit harder than I expected. I went and tried to bomb the interview at the mortgage company. They hired me anyway. That pivot into inbound phone sales in the mortgage world turned out to be exactly where I needed to be: part financial advisory, part real estate, a lot of math, a lot of creativity. The path from there has never been a straight line, but that moment on the dock taught me to pay attention when life is pointing somewhere.

Can you share with our readers a bit about why you are an authority on raising resilient kids? In your opinion, what is your unique contribution to this field?

The biggest reason I believe that every person born has something special in them is that we are all wired to be builders. We are all wired to be builders. To create. Every child has an amazing gift inside of them that only they were given to add value to society. My job is to convince them of that fact. I spent years instilling in our children that they are capable of anything they set their minds to. I attempted to instill in them the confidence to take a chance on themselves. That what is in them is greater than what is in the world. I believe the best gift I have given my children is the strength to be self-sufficient and that they don’t have to have it all figured out

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life or your work?

“This too shall pass.” It also proves that everything in life is temporary and eventually fades. In my best financial seasons, that success eventually passed, just as my toughest financial seasons did too. During a season of bankruptcy, I knew it wouldn’t last forever, the same way I knew a season of exponential growth and financial explosion wouldn’t stay forever either. Whatever we’re walking through, one thing we can count on is that change is coming.

Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. How can parents handle situations when a child faces failure or disappointment? What strategies can parents use to help a child bounce back?

Resist the urge to fix it for them. The instinct to rescue a child from difficulty is understandable, but the moment of struggle is precisely where resilience gets built. The parent’s job is to stay steady and help the child understand what the failure is actually telling them. Connor and I built businesses together when he was young. Some of them went sideways. When I sold my interest in a printing business we’d worked on together, he was unhappy about it. I didn’t talk him out of his feelings. The experience was real, the disappointment was real, and working through that honestly was more valuable than protecting him from it. Kids calibrate their own ability to handle difficulty based on what their parents model. A calm, engaged parent who treats failure as information is the most powerful tool a child has for bouncing back.

What role does parental modeling of resilience play in the development of emotional strength in children? Can you share an example of a resilient parenting moment that you experienced directly or that you have come across in the course of your work?

It’s the primary driver. Children are watching everything, and the behavior a parent normalizes becomes the behavior a child internalizes. During COVID, I pulled out a whiteboard and turned our den into a personal finance classroom. We talked about assets, liabilities, saving, leverage, and the compounding power of money. It wasn’t polished, but the act of sitting down and doing it in the middle of uncertainty sent a message about how our family responds when the world is unpredictable. We learn, we engage, we keep building. The specific lesson matters less than the posture behind it.

What approaches do you recommend to foster a growth mindset in children, encouraging them to see challenge as opportunities to learn?

Connect effort to outcome, and do it early. My kids grew up seeing that building something of value creates financial return. Connor was around eight years old when we started catching fish on the dock and rubbing them onto t-shirts. He said we could make a business out of it. So we did. We built a brand called Hooked, launched a website, and sold shirts. The business itself was small. The lesson was enormous: you can see an opportunity, you can build something, and people will trade money for value you create. That loop, from idea to effort to real result, is what a growth mindset actually feels like in practice. Teach children to complete that loop on small things, and they’ll apply it for the rest of their lives.

How can parents balance providing support with allowing their children to experience and overcome difficulties on their own?

The question I’d ask any parent is: whose confidence are you building? Stepping in too quickly builds confidence in the parent’s ability to solve problems, not the child’s. When Connor wanted to start a crypto mining operation in middle school, I seeded the idea with $10,000 to buy the equipment and software. That was support. But he ran it. He made the decisions. When I gave all my kids the option to invest their car money into an asset instead of buying a depreciating vehicle, I explained the reasoning once. The decision was theirs. Finley used that capital to seed his first e-commerce business. The parent’s role is to create conditions for growth, frame the thinking, and then genuinely step back and let the outcome belong to the child.

What self-care practices would you recommend for parents to maintain their own resilience while going through the everyday challenges of raising children?

I believe in the power of prayer and seeking strength outside myself. Relying only on my own mind to soothe my own mind, especially when I’m unhealthy or out of balance, would leave me in trouble. Meditation matters here too: sitting quietly, seeking the source of all wisdom, and listening for direction and guidance.

Ok. Here is the main question of our discussion. Can you please share “5 Strategies To Raise Children With Resilience and Emotional Strength”? If you can, kindly share a story or example for each.

1. Teach money as a tool, not a goal. I told my kids early that money represents autonomy. The ability to own your own time is the real prize. During COVID, I bought a whiteboard and ran an informal personal finance class right in our home. We covered saving, leverage, compounding, and cash flow. The sessions were messy, and they didn’t last long. But the conversation planted something that took root differently in each of them.

2. Let them build something real. Connor and I launched a clothing brand when he was young, starting from fish prints on t-shirts on the dock. The business wasn’t the point. Teaching him to take an idea from concept to launch, to put it in front of customers, and to experience both the sale and the failure was the point. Every one of my kids has had some version of a real-world build experience early.

3. Let consequences be real. When Connor was unhappy that I sold my share of a business we’d worked on together, I didn’t soften it or talk him out of his reaction. The disappointment was legitimate. Processing it honestly was the lesson.

4. Show them what independence looks like. The freedom I built through decades of saving, investing, and building businesses gave me the ability to be physically present through my kids’ childhoods. I made lunches, went to doctor appointments, and showed up for the small moments. They grew up watching what financial independence actually produces in a person’s daily life. That model matters more than anything I said about money.

5. Expand their world deliberately. My daughter Kylie grew up traveling to Costa Rica and is now fluent in Spanish. She carries a deep respect for the Pura Vida way of life. Exposing children to different cultures, different economies, and different ways of living builds perspective and adaptability. Those are the raw materials of resilience.

How can mindfulness and emotional regulation techniques be incorporated into daily routines to support children’s emotional resilience?

Mindfulness practice starts with intentionality first thing in the morning. Getting my day started right means getting moving, going on a walk, and listening to something that feeds my spirit and soul. I also have daily readings that I do during prayer and meditation. I try to set myself up to win, stacking multiple wins by 9 o’clock in the morning.

Are there any specific tools or resources (books, apps, courses) you recommend for individuals looking to improve in this area?

I like to read and listen to the Bible on an app called YouVersion. I am generally on some reading plan that helps walk me through a structured reading schedule. I also have a lot of spiritual music and meditation music on my phone that I’m able to listen to while walking and during meditation time.

Wonderful. We are nearly done. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

That’s a great question, and I’m struggling to think of someone. I try hard not to put any man or woman on a pedestal, though there are obviously people whose work I admire. Wisdom would guide my choice over celebrity. From a financial stewardship perspective, I’d choose Warren Buffett. He carries a conservative approach to financial stewardship, and there’s a lot to learn from him.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Readers can connect with me on LinkedIn, where I share updates on business and real estate. My website, ryansduncan.com, has more on Jubilee Estate and the other work I’m building. For a look at the farm itself, follow @jubileeorganics and @thejubileeestate on Instagram, and for updates on the wellness side of things, @zinzinoofficial covers that.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!